The Jackson State athletic program is once again at a crossroads, and this time, there's no driver.

On its face, the program appears to be in better shape than most in the league, with attendance at or near the top of the league in both revenue sports, football and men's basketball. The latter is enjoying considerable success on the court, sitting in first place with a 6-0 record in the SWAC.

But under the surface, there is an ongoing struggle to remain competitive. The arms race when it comes to facilities and athletic budgets is real. Even within the conference, Jackson State is behind.

And the most troubling part of JSU's current situation is the fact that it currently has no athletic director, and it remains unclear if there is a plan to hire one.

The university administration, under the leadership of first-year JSU President William Bynum, has been running the department by proxy since removing former AD Wheeler Brown in December, using associate athletic director Genese Lavalais as a liaison between athletic personnel and the president's office.

Sources close to the situation say there's been little to no movement on replacing Brown, who is still appealing his firing through the university's human resources department. That's left Brown in a position where he's not technically fired, just suspended from his position pending resolution.

Until that process is complete, JSU can't legally advertise the opening. The university's media relations office has either not responded to or denied multiple requests for interviews or statements and has not issued any kind of update or status of the search. There has been considerable speculation that Bynum, who came to Jackson State from Mississippi Valley State, will eventually look to hire Dianthia Ford-Kee, who is Valley's current AD.

The lack of a timetable for finding Brown's replacement is concerning, considering what's on the agenda for whoever the president eventually hires.

The most pressing matter is football coach Tony Hughes' contract. Hughes has a record of 6-16 entering the third and final year of his contract and the longevity of the athletic program as a whole could hinge on what happens next with its biggest revenue producer.

With nobody in charge of the athletic department, and with no hiring on the horizon, it's unclear who will make the decision regarding Hughes' contract.

Then there are the long-term problems.

JSU's athletic budget for the last fiscal year was $7.6 million, which ranked seventh in the 10-team SWAC and 337th out of 347 schools in the NCAA's top division.

It was roughly the same as the 2015-16 budget, and in a world where the rich are always getting richer, zero growth means the gap between JSU and the teams it expects to compete against is only getting wider.

Brown knew all too well the challenges his department faced. He made some difficult decisions — like suspending both the women's and men's golf programs — that he felt he had make to keep the program competitive.

“To say that it’s not tough would be telling a tale,” Brown told the Clarion Ledger last fall. “We do what we can with what we have to work with. You have to look at things like scheduling regionally, look at stretching your uniform budget as far as you can. Just try to find creative ways to get things done.”

Former Jackson State Athletic Director Wheeler Brown was rejected a position change that would have reassigned him within the athletic department. He was relieved of his duties on December 8, and his successor has not been named.(Photo: Justin Sellers/The Clarion-Ledger)

And while the detriment of cutting funding for two whole sports is obvious, the lack of investment in others could be even more devastating long-term.

The football program doesn't have a stadium to call its own, and the facilities at Veterans' Memorial Stadium, which JSU leases from the state, are outdated. The athletic facilities and weightlifting room at the Walter Payton Center are comparable to other schools in the SWAC, but Hughes still had to move the site of his team's second fall scrimmage to Madison County, at Germantown High School, because of field conditions at the practice field. The program shares the field with the marching band.

A refurbishing for the Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center, the home of JSU basketball, is long overdue. The department purchased a new hardwood playing surface last season, but the locker rooms and offices housed in the building are showing their age.

Then there's recruiting budgets, which are always a point of contention for coaches. Hughes and men's basketball coach Wayne Brent both declined comment for this story, but they've both had to adopt a hyper-local focus for recruiting to avoid expenses like airfare for potential recruits for on-campus and in-home visits.

The financial problems the athletic program faces are not new, but the lack of leadership in a key position at such a pivotal time is.